Texas

Three cheers for the cheer team

The Little Cypress Mauriceville cheerleaders competed at the UIL State Spirit Competition in Fort Worth on Friday, Jan. 15. The squad competed in the preliminary round and advanced to the top 20 state finalists and competed in the final.

Lockdown lifted at local campuses

Vidor High School and surrounding elementary and middle school sites were briefly on lockdown Thursday, Jan. 14. According to an alert sent to parents, the lockdown was only for “a very brief period based on police approaching a citizen on Orange Street.

BISD election to fill four seats

On the first day of opening the application period to be placed on the ballot for the May 1 election, only one applicant signed up for the four open seats on the Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) Board of Trustees.

Greater Port Arthur area reports dozens of COVID cases for Jan. 13

The Port Arthur and Jefferson County health departments reported an additional 73 cases of COVID-19 infection for Port Arthur, Groves, Port Neches and Nederland residents for Jan. 13 alone. There were confirmations of 28 for Port Arthur, 14 for Groves, 22 for Nederland, and 9 for Port Neches.

Mid-County fire chief arrested on child porn charges

Jan. 13, members of the Office of the Texas Attorney General’s Child Exploitation Unit executed an arrest warrant at the Port Neches home of city Fire Chief Paul Nelson.

Man killed in collision near China

Jan. 9, at approximately 11 p.m., Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers responded to a multiple vehicle crash on Highway 90, near Rice Field Road, in Jefferson County. The preliminary DPS crash investigations indicates that a 2019 Hyundai SUV was traveling eastbound on Highway 90.

Police pursuit ends in deadly crash

At approximately 1 p.m. on Jan. 8, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers received a report of a single vehicle crash on US 190 in Tyler County. The crash occurred just east of CR 3550 and involved a stolen vehicle.

Food Bank appoints interim president/CEO

The Southeast Texas Food Bank has temporarily elevated Director of Development Jimmy Sparks to the role of interim president/CEO, as the nonprofit continues to search for a permanent replacement for outgoing leader Dan Maher, who is leaving for another position closer to home in Virginia.

Repeat customer shot repeatedly by repeat felon

Rustin Chase McKinsey, a 34-year-old Beaumont man also known as “Dolla Bill,” pleaded guilty in federal court on Jan. 6 to discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Stephen J.

Texas identifies case of COVID-19 variant

  The first known Texas case of the COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant, originally noted in the UK, has been identified in a resident of Harris County, according to information from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).